[dman]

The part I dont understand is what prevents Redhat, Ubuntu etc to license multimedia codecs just like any other closed source company? Most significant streaming devices like the boxee, google tv etc run on top of a linux kernel, with netflix support and all other bells and whistles. Why dont linux companies push to license the same and make them available on the desktop?

[jshen]

Most linux companies aren't interested in the desktop. Redhat is focused on servers. Canonical is the only major linux distro/company that has the desktop as a primary focus.